its been a while

Done

Good John W.

Treat it as stages rather than it was square one on the snakes and ladders board. I feel there can be stages and for many there is a stage at the start where people are still winding down rather than stopping. Do you know what I mean?...even though the break may have been fairly long there were still too many routes to temptation

Build on the positives that was more controlled and now you are going for the ultimate abstention with better blocking. Dont dwell on the negatives but be honest with yourself about these blocks and whether you could improve close support

I hope you will extend blocks in a proactive way to anything you can possibly think about. One example is no access with your card by scratching number off a new card. Nationwise online bans and self exclusions are a must really

Please remember that any embarrassment you feel is nothing compared with that next feeling when you may have gambled again.

You know its horrendous to waste your hard earned money. You are seeking a new strength to back up your blocks with monitoring.

Talk through your feelings of wanting to gamble again.....a bit more flush and felt it was time to have another go when nobody was looking 🙂 ?. The addiction works in crazy ways. In 2015 I was patting myself on the back for managing one month, then two weeks then 6 days each time sort of thinking Id been good enough to have a gamble now. I was sort of thinking well at least Im not gambling every day

Im so glad jw that Im on the gamble free path. Its given me focus as a person....more than that its given me some pride I was severely lacking before

Best wishes from everyone on the forum

Thank you Kindly for your wise words Joydivider , I now know I can do it it will just be a case of focus. Remembering the previous experience here which worked wonders does make me smile. Many thanks. John.

All good so far went to a match and had a pint on saturday then watched one on tele sunday . All ok 🙂

Thats good and with proper blocks the days will rack up.

You see the blocks make it far easier to get through a day. The odd thought that you cant act on wont spoil things.

From what Ive learned so far I do believe its always within us but can be contolled as there is no room for complacency. I dont mean a struggle to control it and I dont really think about gambling other than helping on the forum and renewing my blocks which Im doing at the moment.

Ive renewed one and they have a digital system with what looks like a small thick tablet that they take my picture with. They still fill out a form and I have the copy The bookies have said come in on the due date or just afterwards. Some have suggested I have new pictures done so I will see how it goes and be ready to go to the booth at the post office.

Very positive and they all do it calmly and in a friendly way. I tell them about the addiction and I have pride in renewing the exclusion There would be no point creating a scene anyway as that scheme is there to help me.

Best wishes